Who are all these people dying in your arms?

Lahryn04 · Nov 10, 2011

Not going to lie, I kind of agree with you! And I even work on a surgical unit! Granted there are a few occurrences when a code situation happens, we dont technically "save lives" everyday. Also, I'm pretty sure we, as nurses, are supposed to try to avoid such emergent situations. Just my opinion! I'm bet these responses are going to get pretty ugly though! :-)

Munch · Nov 10, 2011

I work neurosurgery/neurology unit and the oncology unit(but I work I'd say 2/3rds of the time on neuro). Our oncology unit is HUGE. Not only do we have an oncology unit, we have a bone marrow transplant unit(mostly for oncology patients but a small percentage have rare blood diseases), a peds oncology unit, a peds bone marrow transplant unit, an oncology outpatient clinic and a peds oncology outpatient clinic. I work inpatient adult oncology services. Actually to tell you the truth we were given compasses and maps during our orientation. The campus is HUGE contains many buildings including a medical school, a medical center and a hospital(medical center and the hospital different buildings on the same campus), plus many clinics and buildings for radiology and maternity services and other stiff(it's insanely large). When I work neuro I work in the medical center when I work oncology I work in the hospital).

Anyway I wanted to emphasize how huge the campus is because the units are REALLY HUGE as well. Anyway I have helped saved many lives on the oncology unit. Family members bring these poor patients in(that in my medical opinion should have DNR's but they don't or should be in a hospice hospital...though we do have a small part of the oncology unit that is called the end of life care that our inpatients can choose to be moved to that is hospice care. They are kept comfortable and they are no codes. Anyway back to saving lives...these families bring patients in that will most likely never leave the hospital. Anyway these patients come in with fevers, infections, no immune system and are on their 4th chemo clinical trial because the other three failed. These patients break my heart. They have mets all over and are in serious pain. Anyway we hook them up to broad spectrum antibiotics until we can find out where the infection is coming from, fluids, O2, zofran and heroic amounts of pain medications and benzos. By the their day the patient goes down hill and a code is called, I've dones chest compresions many times, administered live saving medications while doctors tube these patients. This happens at least once a week in oncology. If the patient doesn't make any improvements they are moved to the medical ICU.

I've also been around for some codes on the neuro floor. It usually happens with a recent surgery patient. But codes on the neuro floor are usually rare. And like you said I don't save lives everyday.

Davey Do · Nov 10, 2011

Interesting Concept you've come up with there, X: "Saving lives".

Somehow, I've always considered myself to be a link in a chain and I feel as though I alone have never saved a life.

On the flip side of the coin, I might have to take full responsibility for someone under my care dying due to my actions or inactions.

There's this belief- oh, how do I put it into words- that we are each here to contribute and

be a part of the whole, and do what we can and then it's up to God or The Fates or the Guardians of the Galaxcy or Whatever to make the Final Decision. You know? Maybe that's The Link Concept coupled with the concept of Defeatism.

Besides, even if you do save a life, that Person's gonna die sometime. Then you'll be losing the life you thought you saved, right?

Dave

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

I've advocated to get several patients moved to a higher level of care. Had I not been there for those people, they would have waited at least a shift to get where they needed to be, because I was the one who alerted the physician.

So, yeah, I think I do save lives. I may not be an ICU or ER nurse. However, several patients don't get to the ICU because they are admitted to the ICU...they get there because a bright nurse has recognized that their needs exceed those of a MedSurg atmosphere.

I've also been the first person to start CPR, or the first person to crack the code cart opened.

DennRN · Nov 10, 2011

I'm a glass half full kind of guy.

I think that a good catch that prevents an emergency is almost better than "saving" a life.

It happens every day in all settings, some nurse out there is probably making one right now as you read this. He or she will not get any fan-fare over it and you won't hear them bragging that they are a guardian angel, but the fact is that they are out there sparing people from pain, suffering, and yes maybe even an early grave.

So yeah maybe we are all to myopic in assessing who gets to wear the badge of "life saver".

Going back to the glass analogy, can someone save a 1/2 of a life? I think most people would agree that it's an either/or proposition, so a catching a contraindicated med, suggesting a diagnostic that comes back positive, or just sitting down and teaching a patient something that they need to know might just be saving a life.

I agree with the statement above that said we are part of a team, but my take on it is that we are all part of a continuum of care, each of us contributing a little to the pot.

Your contributions no matter how small still count in my book.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

I think that a good catch that prevents an emergency is almost better than "saving" a life.
It happens every day in all settings, some nurse out there is probably making one right now as you read this. He or she will not get any fan-fare over it and you won't hear them bragging that they are a guardian angel, but the fact is that they are out there sparing people from pain, suffering, and yes maybe even an early grave.

My point exactly, Denn! Thanks for sharing so eloquently!

SweetheartRN · Nov 10, 2011

Is it really that important? I don't necessarily care what kind of ego-trip, self gratification, etc. in her/his mind it takes for a nurse to do the best job she/he can. IF it has no direct negative impact on the care they give. Its hard enough to continue to devote yourself to this very often times thankless, emotionally, physically, mentally draining job. If that's the least a nurse has to feel to maintain a type of purpose in this profession then far be it from me to tell them any different.

I personally do not feel I save lives. In LTC we intiated CPR often before a bus arrived and ofcourse I had to be the one to determine their need to be outta there and then to call a code. I feel I help people from getting sicker(renal med surg) and sick at all(peds clinic) and thats quite enough for me. I feel that the patients on med surg floors are getting sicker and sicker and maintain alot more care than the "status quo" nowadays. Alot of my patients come directly from ICU or need to be back on ICU. We have Rapid Responses almost everyday while taking care of 6-7 patients at the same time. To be able to even monitor changes in a patients status is pretty freaking awesome with that caseload. And we have to do this without the equipment available to help us monitor b/c its not a monitor floor or ICU.

I can understand why it might be a rub to ED and ICU nurses b/c their primarily there to do that. That IS what their job entails. Tell my manager to get these patients off my floor and I will gladly continue to keep patients from getting sicker...which is the max of what I want to do.

allnurses Guide · Nov 10, 2011

I've noticed for a while that there's a common phrase of "saving people's lives"......
In the ICUs (various sorts) and EDs - Yeah, they do save lives. IN surgery, yep- I'd agree with that.
On a med-surg floor, you help patients progress and stay stable. It's not a constant "hero festival" :)
To read a bunch of threads/posts, it sounds like every nurse is out there saving the world (did someone forget to tell the UN?).
Nurses (aside from ED, and the units where critical patients are being cared for) work on rehab the minute the patient lands on the bed. You do deal with unexpected emergencies that are life threatening- but it's not a constant run from room to room assessing for the need for the ERT.
It's busy, sometimes overwhelming, hard work...but most of the time, you maintain the status quo, and hope for some improvement that helps get them out the door (and not feet first).
Is EVERY floor a hospice floor? Nobody comes to the hospital to get well anymore? Someone's life has to be in jeopardy before you can save it :)
Saving lives, saving lives, saving lives...... just sounds like it cheapens those floors that REALLY are faced with life and death decisions every single day. JMO. :)

THANK YOU for putting words to this!!!

Also, I notice some nurses post (usually in vent threads) how they don't have time or are being run into the ground... and they always have to throw in "chest pain" and a "code blue" into the mix.

I know these things happen, but does it really happen every time your other patients ask for a blanket or a glass of water?

Are some nurses tossing this in just to make it more dramatic?

I know I just lit a fire under my azzz saying that, but I even hear this tossed out in Psych and in my hospital and I think, "really???" .

Example: "How could I get anything done with people coding all over the place?" And it was one code for one patient and it happened yesterday and lasted 20 minutes and you weren't responsible for any of the paperwork because it wasn't even on your unit. You did nothing in that code, either, BTW...

It's almost like some people feel they have to toss that in to feel like-- and to convince others-- that they are that nurse that "saves lives".

Tait, MSN, RN · Nov 10, 2011

I like to think I protect and enhance lives.

Everything else I was thinking has been said in part by previous posters and I have Kudoed appropriately.

PS. I once worked with a tech that would when asked how her days was would respond with "oh just saving peoples' lives". How does that make you feel?

morte, LPN, LVN · Nov 10, 2011

Is the OP intending to incite? Because that is how it looks to me. Do we need another Icu vs med surg thread?

RNperdiem, RN · Nov 10, 2011

But we do save lives.

There is a reason that the floors are staffed with nurses and not aides; we need to be available when things do go wrong. Emergencies pop up all the time. When I was a floor nurse, that unpredictability was part of the job.

A stable patient right now can turn unstable at any time.